Follow the NN/LM SCR

Archive for October, 2005

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will be funding a 3 year $2 million dollar grant to WebJunction for a Spanish Language Outreach Program. The program will provide public library staff with skills and other resources to reach out to Spanish speakers and increase the number of Spanish speakers who use public access computers in public libraries.

According to the About Us page: “Five years in development, and created in collaboration with 1,100 physician specialists, the company’s patented HealthMap search platform is powered by an unparalleled medical taxonomy that encompasses nearly one million medical terms and synonyms. Using state-of-the art medical informatics, these terms are matched and compared to the diverse ways in which they are used within the context of human medical conditions to provide much more relevant and precise results than broad, horizontal search engines.”

A new library wiki has arrived. According to the site: “the Library Instruction Wiki, a collaboratively developed resource for librarians involved with or interested in instruction. All librarians and others interested in library instruction are welcome and encouraged to contribute.”

According to the Miami Herald, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services unveiled new tools on the Medicare Web Site called the “Medicare Prescription Drug Finder Plan” and the “Landscape of Local Plans.” While not completely ready for customer use, in the coming weeks the website will allow users to compare Medicare drug prescription plans. The website will be fully functional well before enrollment begins on November 15, 2005.

A six-part PBS television series entitled “Rx for Survival” will air November 1-3, 2005. The series is the cornerstone of a pioneering multimedia project designed to create an understanding of the importance of global health issues in our lives and inspire Americans to get involved in addressing serious health issues.
To help libraries and other groups, the website offers a variety of activities under the feature heading “Give Time.” There are several hands-on activities that librarians can use to engage groups ranging from young children through adults. All of these require no materials or just a few readily available resources. One activity, for example, is a called “Unfair Race.” This is a simple but eye-opening activity that helps participants understand how much of an impact where you live has on your health. Players assume the roles of different countries and examine the extent to which one’s country can help or hinder your health.

There’s a special online outreach toolkit librarians can register to use that has even more activity ideas, step-by-step guides, signage, logos, and more. It’s at http://wgbh.org/rxtoolkit.